[Comparison of postmortem heart and femoral vein blood ethanol concentrations]

ABSTRACT

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of medical and social problems and ethanol analysis is the most frequently performed assay in forensic toxicology laboratories. Femoral vein blood is the choice specimen, but occasionally there is no access to it. The aim of this study is the comparison of ethanol concentration between heart blood and femoral venous blood. Ethanol concentrations were determined in femoral vein blood and heart blood obtained from 50 forensic necropsies that the time of death was less than 24h. The specimens were stored in duplicate state at 4°C within filled, dark and closed containers with preservative and analyzed by headspace gas chromatography in Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of Tehran's Legal Medicine Organization with a precision coefficient of variation 5%-7%. The limit of detection was /1 mg/dl and the limit of quantification was 10 mg/dl. The mean concentration of ethanol in heart blood was 131.88 +/- 93.46 mg/dl and in femoral vein blood was 135.96 +/- 95.47 mg/dl. The heart blood/femoral blood ethanol concentration ratio was 0.958 +/- .18 and regression correlation coefficient was 0.98. When considered specimens with concentrate ethanol concentration >100 mg/dl was 0.943. There was no considerable difference between femoral vein blood and heart blood alcohol concentration if the death was happened before 24h and sampling and storage be correct and appropriate